Uber To Cut Rates In More Than 100 Cities

On Friday afternoon, Uber posted an article on their blog and let some media outlets know that they would be cutting rates in 100 cities in the US and Canada. In true Uber fashion, they made the announcement after business hours on a Friday and didn’t even e-mail drivers about it.

December and January are typically slow months for rideshare drivers, and Uber has actually pulled this stunt three years in a row now. In fact, they wrote an identical blog post last year, that even had the same title and was released on the same day they announced massive fare cuts in 48 cities.

You can read today’s (2016) Uber’s announcement here, but the gist of it is that Uber will be cutting fares in order to increase passenger demand and then drivers will make more money. Unfortunately, we’ve been through this before, and that is a total lie. When rates go down, it may increase passenger demand but drivers most definitely make less. And if they’re doing more trips per hour, their expenses are also higher.

There Will Be Fare Guarantees Though

Uber did say that there will be fare guarantees, but if history tells us anything, they will only be available for a few months. Last year’s guarantees actually worked out pretty well for a lot of RSG readers since we revealed how you could hack Uber’s guarantees, but they’ve closed a lot of the loopholes in the program since.

I’ll be curious to see what Uber offers in the way of guarantees, but I’m not expecting much.

Which Cities Got Cut?

Uber 20% Fare Cuts – Atlanta

We haven’t found a full list of affected cities yet, but according to Bloomberg, Uber will cut prices in Los Angeles and San Francisco by 10 percent, Houston by 20 percent, and Richmond, Virginia, by 15 percent. Prices in some cities, including New York and Chicago, will remain unchanged for now.

There were a lot of reports on social media today that fare cuts were coming, but we didn’t post anything about it until it was confirmed by Uber. Some drivers even reported getting a call from their local Uber office notifying them of the fare cuts. Others figured it out when they got an e-mail like this to their passenger account.

Honestly, I find it pretty insulting that Uber announces this stuff on a Friday after work hours and doesn’t even e-mail its drivers about it. Drivers like you and I have to find out from people in the media or even passengers. It’s probably a safe bet that a lot of drivers will be working for Lyft this weekend.

Update (1/9/16): Uber has finally started sending e-mails to some drivers in affected cities. Here’s what the new rates will look in a few cities. You can find a full list of new rates here. Also note that in some cities, UberXL and Pool rates have also changed. If your city isn’t listed yet, please e-mail me and I’ll update my spreadsheet.

I'm Harry, the owner and founder of The Rideshare Guy Blog and Podcast. I used to be a full-time engineer but now I'm a rideshare blogger! I write about my experience driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services and my goal is to help drivers earn more money by working smarter, not harder.

Wow. I totally agree. Uber needs to hire some dedicated person to be an ambassador to the drivers.

Kevin O’Keefe

Highly unlikely they will ever do that. You cannot get a job with them if you are/have been a “partner” ( or actually have some level of intelligence , skill & experience ). Speaking to some ex Uber employees there is almost a “cult” mentality in their offices.

Hans Nyberg

Exactly. The German chef said recently in an interview after they closed down i 3 cities and after the ban on UberPop: “We were young and inexperienced before one to two years and have let us drift from the euphoria of our community. Now we follow a partnership approach. I do not want to deny that we have made mistakes. ”http://news.newsdirectory2.com/uber-germany-boss-we-have-made-mistakes/

Chester Hazlewood

Yes, this should tell you just how much they respect you. They don’t respect suckers, no one does. I guess they’d rather not hire fools. I hate to break your pretty illusions about the business world, because as the saying goes “never wise up a chump”. I’m a softy so I’m giving you some wisdom.

That would be nice but not sure it’s at the top of their priority list..

Chester Hazlewood

Ha ha, a dedicated ambassador to the suckers! You guys crack me up. Uber sees you as a natural resource, a free one. A natural resource that’s born every minute, a sucker. You folks need to be schooled. They’re getting you to waste your cars for them. Wake up, please.

Kyle Kepner

Detroit went to 30 cents a mile

Aaron Black

I’m sorry to hear that. You can barely ride a bicycle for that.

Courteous Transportation

Hey fellas. It’s all in our power. We can stop uber dead in there tracks. I worked for uber for 3 days and just like some of you, I’m sick of uber dogging me. So, if you’re tired of the degradation, then please quit uber and work anywhere you’ll at least make minimum wages. Forget what the courts might do, sign up for lyft. That’ll show them.

Aaron Black

I agree, I joined up with a rideshare service called Arcade City. It’s formed by drivers who want to do things better than Uber does.

The federal government recognizes the automobile reimbursement of $0.575 cents. This means driving for Uber in Detroit you will lose money on every trip! I will have no sympathy when Uber is sued!

PhilTheBiker

And there are still drivers driving in detroit, and a LOT of them. Every area will be at $0.30 before you know it.

Cowabunga1000

You might need to retitle that last post, “Why Rideshare Driving Is Like Being The Captain Of The Titanic.”. Uber’s next brainstorm will probably be to raise their cut. Is there any evidence anywhere that Uber gives two hoots about its drivers?

Tyson Nielsen

Palm Springs was cut 45%!!!. Does it usually go back up after these winter decreases?

We went from 1.45 to .80. I won’t be driving unless they go back up. Too bad, it was good extra income.

Not to mention that when I started in PS, just 14 months ago, it was $1.85 per mile. I’ve worked my last for Uber in Palm Springs. Congrats, Uber, you just lost an AWESOME driver!

Granny

My husband was the very first driver here in PS, he worked for 5 months growing this territory, recruiting drivers, getting all the restaurants, valets on board etc and making the best income we ever had. Then, slowly but surely, they started to betray us. He billed $108,000 for 2015, netting a weekly average of about $1600! Two weeks ago, the day after this last fare reduction, he gets a call from UBER marketing, telling him they are doing a local news story on UBER vs taxi, saying they know him and are very aware that he is the top driver and they’re first driver, so he was chosen to do the commercial. They said they want to target the senior communities here. My husband, Tim takes the opportunity to say, “you know there is a lot of backlash here about what you just did to our earnings?” to which she responded; “yes, we are aware, but you have nothing to worry about, we are going to take care of you”. I asked him, wtf does that even mean??! He said he was caught off guard and sort of mentally paralyzed, fearing he would say or ask the wrong thing in response. The commercial he did will air this Wednesday, Feb 24, 2016. What’s so absurd is, they talk about “winter rates”, but this is PEAK SEASON in Palm Springs! This is when the fares should be HIGHER NOT LOWER, but they know NOTHING and care even less!

PhilTheBiker

Just wondering, are you under the contract where Uber took 20% for UberX or 25%?

ILOVE138

So far most of the time when they cut rates the cuts become permanent. Not always, but usually. Start looking for another line of work

PhilTheBiker

Last year it went from $1.35 to $1.20 in Pittsburgh and I never made more money, in fact, I made less. This time from $1.20 to $0.90. So if I work 10 hours and my take home is $100 after Ubers cut I made $10 an hour. That is a crappy day, but I’ve done it. Now if I do that same shift I’ll take home $75 after Ubers cut and I still need to pay $35 for my gas.

I hope Lyft doesn’t drop rates in response because that is where I’m going to be until rates get above $1 per mile.

I think what Uber is trying to do is get experienced drivers like me off the road. Why? Because we have 20% cut and the new guys have a 25% cut. Then after most of the 20%’ers are gone they can raise the rates and then make more money than before.

Yea I think we all know by now that the lower rates = more money is total BS.

renrag

I think you’re on to something there Phil…

Well I’m sticking around. It won’t be easy, but hopefully in the end it will work out for me and anyone else who sticks with it.

PhilTheBiker

So I opened up the pax app and dropped a point in Detroit to see how the $0.30 per mile was going. There are tons of drivers driving at $0.30 per mile. I’m blown away by this. I’ll do one ride a month to stay current, but Lyft is still $1.20 mile $0.20 minute so I’ll be Lyft only and maybe some postmates in between.

PhilTheBiker

Especially when i know for a fact it cost me $0.10 cents a mile to drive my car (26mpg), drive two miles to get to someone and then the person wants to go around the corner. unacceptable.

Maida Vail

Upon opening the rider app this morning I see a banner which says to the effect that price cuts are only going to be temporary. As it is, it makes more sense to just shuttle students back and forth for min fares rather than wasting gas on longer rides which are 4X as long and pennies above minimum.

Maida Vail

I have also noticed that surges are now more frequent because of lower fares, but they are so ephemeral (don’t last long) it’s like catching a fly with you hand.

Which is why nobody should drive more than they have to after they get their sign up bonus. The economics DOES NOT make sense anymore.

Jonathan Seebach

San Diego rates cut by 30 % for uberx and 40% for uberxl

Chester Hazlewood

This hole business is for stupid people. In essence you’re all suckers! ((“Never give a sucker and even break…under God!” our country’s motto, in case you didn’t know )) You trash your cars for chump change; on top of this you risk totaling your cars. What will you do when that happens; you’ll default, my guess. You’re all fly-by-nighters. Why rideshareguy do you encourage such stupidity? Uber and Lyft are just using you cruelly. They see suckers lining up. Why should they care if you can’t afford to maintain your cars? I mean they could lower their rates as much as they want they aren’t paying for the cars.

What does a Cab Driver get by paying the gate fee?

1. the car is totally insured he/she pays nothing if the car gets wrecked. (the taxi company may ask him/her to pay but a smart cab driver says “no way”.)
2. the maintenance. A maintenance staff that look at the car almost every day.
3. workman’s comp
4. A cab driver takes $$$$ cash. ((you’re going to be taxed idiots don’t even think you won’t )
5. Customers that pay cash! (did i mention that already?)
6. A car that the driver can abuse all he/she wants to make money
7. Respect: the customer always knows that the driver can kick their ass out of the car anytime he/she wants, so the customer is usually polite and respectful.
8. we don’t spend our money giving them drinks and candy (or, whatever you obsequious scum give them). I don’t see how you even can expect respect from your customers with bs giving.
9. CASH IN HAND!!!! (I seem to remember writing that already, huh)

What does a Lyft/Uber driver get for his 20%-25%?

……Nothing!

So, now you know how big of fools you are.

Good luck sunshine.

wp

Just when you think it can’t possibly get worse. To those who think rates will go back up after slow months, they won’t. To those wondering if Lyft will have to change their rates, they will. Lyft HAS to match Uber on prices. Usually it’s a delay of a month or so but Lyft will lower their rates accordingly.

There is no reason for Uber not to do this, no matter how low the rates go, there are a flood of people signing up to drive.

Be warned, the Uber hourly guarantees are somewhat of a farce, if you make over the hourly guarantee in any one hour, the overage amount is used to subsidize other guarantee hours you would have qualified for.

iansltx

Lyft hasn’t dropped rates in Austin to match Uber, and Uber’s been less expensive than Lyft for awhile now. That said, Lyft has had various promos to drop their prices below Uber (the commuter promo relatively recently, Prime Time Rewinder and 50% off all rides for a few months over the summer), and Lyft Line is comparable to, or slightly less than, UberX, with Lyft footing the bill if you’re the only one in the car. So it’s not a _completely_ lost cause.

They won’t go back up but yea I guess it’s just a matter of as long as they can find drivers willing to drive, they’ll keep on lowering rates..

ILOVE138

They will always be able to find drivers willing to drive. Even if they pay a penny, someone will be desperate enough to work for that penny. The problem is quality. Riders want to feel safe, they want a clean ride, they want courteous service. But they’ll get less and less of this as quality drivers leave the rideshare game for better paying jobs.
When drivers who can afford a nice vehicle, nice clothes, a trendy haircut, can no longer afford to work for Uber (or Lyft) they’ll stop driving and find other work. Because they CAN.
I love driving but not enough to do it for pennies. In customer service you have to love your job or at least love the pay enough to fake it. But Uber is making its drivers hate them. Do they genuinely believe that won’t trickle down into their customer’s experience?

People get what they pay for and in the case of rideshare most customers aren’t going to feel comfortable hopping into the car of the stranger who’s only there because he/she can’t find a better paying job.
Uber’s reputation has always been iffy and I don’t see it “surging” *pun intended* when any driver worth his salt is quitting to find other work.
Has none of this even entered their minds? Their investor’s minds? A company that’s having to constantly lower its prices doesn’t exactly scream stability. There are so many red flags I’m just shocked no one seems to see them!

Elsitemaxx

True!!!

Kathleen Garrett

I agree!

Elsitemaxx

This is just NOT FAIR so I decided just to do one trip every hour and driving the rest for lyft…let’s see if the give me the 15 bucks they are saying on the e-mail sent….it’s crazy how they don’t care about drivers and even more how is still people signing up for 75% of the total fare (minus the riders fee) here is the screen shot…. This is abusive…

Elsitemaxx

Abussive lies

wp

To get the guarantee you also have to be online at least 50 out of 60 minutes of each hour. Just doing one ride per hour won’t cut it. It’s a system designed to keep you from driving for Lyft (which for now pays more)

wp

Well looks like it only took 7 days for Lyft to match Uber.

iscatnip

Isn’t amazing how the Safe Rides fee keeps going up which Uber takes 100% of and the driver gets no portion, yet fares for which drivers do get a portion are being cut. Basically Uber had figured out with their tremendous metrics and big data analysis that they can at least maintain their profits (more likely increase their profit) by increasing the Safe Ride fee and the potential increased number of rides which comes with lowering rates. Think about it…they are genius, but screwing their drivers! I’ve talked to Uber employees from HQ in San Francisco and they all say as long as there will be desperate people willing to drive for one economic reason or another, they really don’t care about their drivers. It is all about more profit driven by computer metrics and nothing else.

There could be a mass move over to Lyft only problem is Lyft as well as other drivers need to explain to the masses what’s going on. But the truth is Lyft just made a similar bone-headed move so there’s really no other places to go.

TheOne

Am I seeing that correctly? Detroit is $0.30 a mile? I left uber more than a year ago. Wow really feel sorry for the people still driving.

It’s scary how far Uber is willing to go to test out how little people are willing to make.

Brenda Brown-Paul

DC region

apmarina

I think lowering the price to attract more customers is ridiculous. Here in LA I pick up a fair amount of riders from high-end restaurants and niteclubs. Many of my trips cost the rider less than one drink at these establishments. Does anyone seriously believe a 10% cut in fare is going to convince them to use Uber (or Lyft) as opposed to…..? What other option do they have – a cab? Same for regular people like students and those going to work. They have to go, they don’t have a car, and they choose not to take the bus. At the current rates – or even dare I say 50% HIGHER – rideshare options are still a bargain and more convenient. And there are plenty of ways that Uber could arrange for drivers to increase their income without affecting most passengers (charging a $1/minute for waiting at liquor stores or driver-through burger joints would be one way). Also, if I’m supposed to maintain a 90% acceptance rate in order to qualify for the guarantee, how do I do that when Uber won’t even tell me what my acceptance rate is?

KW

January is a slow month for most service jobs (restaurants, taxis, clubs) because they’re tired and broke from the holidays. People just aren’t going out much. You could make the rides on Uber free but people aren’t going to use them if they don’t have anywhere to go. This is just a test Uber is doing to see if they can get away with paying their drivers less. I hope a large UberExodus is coming!

Atl

Savannah from from 1.50 to .85

Anthony Phan

People usually say that if you do not like the job that pay you little, then just quit (remember story about those McDonald employees want to make $15/hr minimum to flip burgers.) I guess those big bosses at Uber and Lyft think about their drivers same way! They send out text and emails thanking their partners and screw them no more than 24 later. Of course, there are smart people (like me) would stop driving altogether or choose selective driving only, whereas there are many not so bright or desperate people try to make end meets. But by no mean, driving people around requires same skills as flipping burger! It is a very demanding and stressful job with potential deadly consequences, including lawsuits from injured/dead riders. Unless people smart out and refuse to drive unless they average out to $20/hr, these Uber and Lyft boss can lower to $.50/mile and still plenty driving for them.

holygoat

Uber has the right to set their rates. Drivers have the right to accept them or not. I’ve chosen not to accept them.

Bella

As a driver for Uber in LA – CA, I have only one-word comment: ADIOS UBER !

Anthony Thomas

To where exactly?

ILOVE138

Is Uber not concerned with the fact that as driver pay decreases, driver quality will decrease?

I think that’s the real question, pay has been on the decline for 2 years though. Wonder what the breaking point is.. therideshareguy.com/will-uber-ever-run-out-of-drivers/

Anthony Thomas

If your broke, ran out of UI benefits and had a late model car that qualifies even $.70 a mile isn’t the breaking point.

People doing it full-time have to include all expenses incurred.

I do it part-time as I believe Harry does but I have a second job(s) while Harry runs this site. I need my car to do my other work, so I was paying for it before doing ride share and I’ll paying for it likely after I quit doing ride share, I don’t include it.

In fact even with reduced activity in my other job it’s still enough to pay most of my automotive expenses.

Frank

Most my rides say they are switching to lyft cause of how often uber changes its fare at least with lyft they know what to expect

KW

I do a fair amount of $4.65 rides, especially around colleges. This price cut doesn’t lower the price at all for these rides. Thanks Uber for creating the ultimate lose-lose.

In San Diego Uber slashed rates by 30%! I drove my butt off this weekend and barely made enough to make my weekly lease payment. I might be able to buy lunch one day with the rest of my pay for this week…

Start donating plasma to compensate until you can find a better solution. Twice a week you would make enough to cover at least half of your lease payment.

I can also get you work as a merchandiser if you interested.

PhilTheBiker

What’s crazy is that people in Detroit people are only at $0.30 per mile and if you put your driver app over Detroit you’ll find all kinds of people driving for that rate!

My idea is two fold now that I see this.
1) get taxi drivers to quit because they can’t make money.
2) get drivers who only have a 20% cut drop out in favor of drivers who now have a 25% cut.

Once taxi’s are almost all but gone and the 20%’ers are almost all but gone, and the government decides that we are employees, then Uber is the new Taxi service and will raise their rates and make their investors money.

That’s just my current speculation. I’ve been a driver for about 11 months now.

John

Why is my post not being shared? Why does it keep coming up as Spam detected?

I see it. Ask away, but don’t include links. Those tend to get spammed.

rgrandall

My very first week with Uber in December I hit one of their so-called $35/hr guarantees (Ha!, read $26/hr after they take their cut) and did well for that one week … but made only $13.70/hr net based on actual fares … before paying for gas, insurance and my car. Now they’ve cut the base fares and that will drop commensurately.

The last 2 weeks I’ve hit the Lyft Power Driver Bonus and calculate that I still made only about $12.50 an hour based on the hours I was logged in — and that’s before paying for gas, insurance and the other costs of owning a car …..

UBER’s newest offers gives drivers like me the “big chance” to earn $15/hr net after their egregious 25% cut for “peak hours”, and only $12/hr for other hours — AFTER jumping through all their hoops designed to basically disqualify me from getting the guarantee ….

So in my first three weeks of driving I’ve been putting in 55 hour per week grinds and losing touch with most of the other stuff in my life just to earn LESS than what I could make in most other entry-level, unskilled jobs …..

SO — both companies are reducing this to mere income-filling-in-while-finding-something-better-to-do-with-your-time. THIS IS NOT A CAREER GUYS — FORGET IT.

And the long term outlook? In 20 years … of far less, Uber and Lyft will be operating driver-less car fleets, replacing the likes of us …. WITNESS: GM just bought a $500 million share in Lyft, looking for a driver-less car partnership …..

rgrandall

While I was writing my last post, Lyft sent an email to drivers, announcing a change in the Power Driver Bonus: Instead of 50 hours total with 10 hours peak per week … it will have to be 75 total rides with 25 peak hour rides. This will be nearly impossible for most drivers to accomplish, given Lyft’s much smaller footprint in the LA market.

During the past two weeks I put in about 55 hours each week and got only about 60 rides, spending most of that time in West Hollywood and Beverly Hills, supposedly high-demand areas. I have waited as much as hour or more for a ride, EVEN AT LAX — AND EVEN DURING THEIR SO-CALLED PEAK HOURS.

So, on average a driver will have to drive about 80 hours a week to accomplish 75 rides, and likely will have to do all 20 hours of what they call “peak” hours to get at least 25 peak hour rides, including the bar-closing hour trips which are short and largely tip-less ….

So far, I have resisted running both apps simultaneously, but I think I’m about to start doing that, because doing what either Uber or Lyft wants a driver to do seems to be ONLY in their best interests, not in mine …..

Anthony Thomas

I drive both. On NYE, I made $100 with Lyft and $288 with Uber. I made an additional $32 in tips.

Your right about frequency with Lyft and why they would make such a move is mind numbing-ly stupid.

Uber’s so-called guarantee hours of 4pm to 7pm I think I can eek out. I average about a rider per hour on Thurs. Monday will be tougher since less people go out on Monday Night.

I don’t think meeting that on Tues or Wed will be a problem and I already do Thurs, I guess I could start at 4 pm though.

rgrandall

Anthony — Where do you usually spend your time driving?

Anthony Thomas

Majority of my rides come from Uber. I start in the SFV every single time, as long as I start before 10:30-11:00 pm. It seems I get caught in the Valley if I start too late. If I start before that, I get within the first few rides I will get one to either West LA or Hollywood, sometimes Downtown. From there I will typically cris-cross the city and end the evening hopefully in the valley somewhere. Saturday I ended it in Sherman Oaks, I live in Northridge/Reseda.

rgrandall

I’m working on the Uber guarantee this week. Started in Pasadena around 6:30 and by noon had 14 rides, covering the morning incentive period and then some. Going out again for the 4 to 7 incentive period.

Do you know — for purposed of tabulating trips per hour — do they use the time of the START of the ride or the END of the ride to determine if it falls within an incentive period?

Anthony Thomas

I don’t know how they are doing it. I would ask somebody who does Uber Select which I believe works on the same guarantee.

I just can’t do the morning thing as I tend to stay up late even on off-days.

This is why I am targeting 4-7 pm starting tomorrow.

wp

You are absolutely correct. Here in SF we have been under the new PDB bonus scheme since mid-December. We now have to get 110 rides per week with 40 of them occurring during peak hours. I have put in over 60 hours a week and never gotten higher then the 10% bonus level. And that took all of 62 hours online to achieve. I was quite frankly, exhausted, by the end of the week and truly feeling taken advantage of.

The stress and anxiety of hoping a fare comes to you during peak hours to achieve bonus is probably one of the worst experiences a driver will have to go through now. Lyft touts how they are all about the drivers and loyalty is their focus but I just don’t see that anymore. This new scheme is a page straight out of Uber’s playbook.

rgrandall

Basing any “incentive plan” on the number of rides during any interval — when THEY control the number of rides you can get — is clearly just a shell game.

Discouragement is the opposite of “incentive” ….

Surely they’re not that managerially stupid …. so they must think we are ….

Shaun Duncan

hello there,im Shaun,have been doing this now over 2 years….these latest cuts have me so depressed…..its more like 20 % not 10 %…when do the cuts stop??????…(sigh) thanks for letting me vent

Shaun Duncan

i just had a ride on the new rates,……….24 miles 34 min 21.70 hmmmmm its not what it used to be guess another year on medi-cal is in the works….

wall

im just too tired. But lets do something then instead of despairing. I know people have said it before but lets do something like a NO UBER SATURDAY. Someone make a poster to print. make a facebook page with maybe button indicating they will do it, and then at 12 am everyone go to the page and click attending button to show they arent working. Put this on all the user forums.
make a payusuber.com and have polling.
tell everyone in your addressbook to send a email with the poster. tell everyone to share it on facebook.
Put your story on facebook. put in the poster the ratecut and the added cuts to new drivers.

Ridesharing guy, you know someone to spear head? Someone who can do the social thing and email the broadcast stations, news and enews?
Ask every friend and family to download the app and ask for a ride and cancel that day.
We could put put a stop to this and make uber backoff if someone stepped up. not me. But I will not work for one day if 1000 people say they wont. It is just one day and it could make a difference.

do something, or just live with it. “Uber doesnt care about their drivers!” , well, they never did, and they never will.

They will do it again, and again..what will you do, quit or stand up? Me, I’m looking for another job.

so….who is in?

Anthony Thomas

Despite needing the money for vacation I would support it. The problem is as I have been saying with these toothless movements is that individualism has ruined the sense of community in this country so gathering a bunch of drivers or anybody now is like herding cats.

You are more likely to get solidarity in a developing country or in Western Europe.

wall

Thanks Anthony for responding! I thought maybe I would get a lot of “you don’t know what you are talking about” /”then stop driving!” or the hopeful “Yeah, let’s do it!’
But nothing….except for you. It wasn’t the best well written piece, but I think I gave the gist. I sadly agree you are right.
I started a month ago after moving to Raleigh. It’s been exhausting working nights. I did our budget and thought we can do it…after seeing this weekend, this is the tipping point. Too much gas & driving time for little money. It will be hard enough to find another job while on this but it is better to act fast…I know this is nothing compared to other cities out there, I feel for ya all!

Anthony Thomas

There was suppose to be a strike during NYE 2016 but I don’t know what came of it.

As I said people put personal interest ahead of group interest. Unfortunate but true and it’s been pounded in our heads since birth in this country.

Maybe because I am Black and I get that some people need a hand up or a hand out and that we shouldn’t spend our time demonizing each other when the wealthy and corporations get away with murder, literally.

holygoat

Why would I put the interest of any group ahead of myself or any individual that I have a personal relationship with?

Anthony Thomas

Personal relationships? You mean wife/girlfriend/children? Look nobody is asking you to sacrifice income just for a strike/protest.

If a large enough group of drives sat out important days then demands can be made. But nobody is going to do it alone.

Uber driver should take a lesson from Occupy which is still quite active.

holygoat

Hey man, you do you. I’ll do me.

MikeSnap

Connect with other local drivers and schedule a meet and greet on those strike days. That’s how you track how many drivers are on board and not actually driving. It’s not about not driving for a whole day just don’t drive when it’s busy.

DanielAMcAllen

I defy Uber to survey 100 riders at random and find even 1 that actually knows what the rates are.

Rab Bakari

Ouch! #NewJersey >>> Plus SRF were increased! Not to mention that 50% slash for doing business at EWR (SMDH!)

TLC license? Yep! The market is in NYC. Be smart!

Uber sample New Jersey fares below.

Hoboken to Jersey City

Old uberX: $7.51
New uberX: $6.38

Asbury Park to Point Pleasant
Old uberX: $29.48
New uberX: $25.06

Newark Liberty Airport to Jersey City
Old uberX: $26.76
New uberX: $10.30

That river crossing customer surcharge is not enough to keep TLC licensed drivers doing business there now.

A TLC licensed driver originating in a city on the western banks of the Hudson river to the inner parts of New Jersey state to make a quick buck? > Fuggeddabouit!

I’m done. I drive…drove in Jacksonville where rates have now been cut to a measly 0.65 per mile. It may be a great decision for greedy uber execs, but it’s not for me. Especially when I barely averaged out to 10 bucks an hour as is. I did it on the side, but it’s not even worth the trouble anymore.

Kevin Faaborg

It’s interesting that Uber cut fares after New Year’s Eve and after the firestorm of rider complaints about 6.9x to 9.9x surge rates and the resulting huge fares. Drivers loved it (mostly), but riders didn’t.

I have some theories about the fare cuts:

The January slump could be attributed to the riders feeling ticked off and cheated by the “Uber surge” NYE fares and boycotting Uber on a grassroots level. Their anger eventually subsides or they get cabin fever from not going out every week.

Riders also have a limited monthly entertainment budget, even if they are wealthy. What is your financial reaction to an unexpected expense? Rob Peter to pay Paul. Some have to forego going out (and using Uber) for a month or 2 as they pay off their higher credit card balance (that $500 Uber fare, for example). Those funds come from their Entertainment budget because it’s the most flexible.

Uber may have to put a cap on surge rates, keeping them high enough to be an incentive to drivers, but low enough not to tick off the riders or force them not to use Uber for financial reasons.

One would think that Uber should have learned this lesson already. The outrage over 8x surge after the Sydney coffee shop incident and “Uber surge” during natural disasters should make Uber reconsider their pricing strategies. Surge is a great concept, but it can be too aggressive.

Some of my fares talked about Uber as a brand, delivering a clean, safe, pleasant, and reliable ride from point A to point B. If rate cuts result in an exodus of quality drivers that are replaced with drivers that cannot speak the local language, don’t know their city, drive like maniacs, and have no customer service skills, Uber’s image, and its brand, will suffer. Riders will defect and fare counts will drop. Uber’s growth and investments will decline and Uber could eventually join the hundreds of companies that failed for one reason or another. (Yes, the comparison to the Direct TV ads was on purpose.)

Read news media articles about the most hated companies in the USA and you will find that many of them did one or more of these things: Farmed out customer support to a foreign country and hired staff with limited English language skills; treated their customers like they are expendable; treated their employees poorly; or chased short-term profits at the expense of long term stability. Are we seeing some of this with Uber? How long will this last until Uber bites the dust?

randall

I really don’t see how this business strategy could continue…..I mean, I guess it COULD, but it seems that it would eventually make Uber the Wal-Mart of ridesharing.
They are a new age company with a stone age business strategy. The answer is and will stay—for drivers to set their own rates. Eventually it will happen….

Vincent Smith

Houston rates as of Jan 9.

JackM

While reading and posting, I opened my email about how the new Lyft power driver rates (Chicago) would be calculated. Because of vehicle age I will soon be disqualified from power driver status. Essentially a 20% paycut. So I’ve been asking myself “what can I do?” What can we do?” Well, for myself, the power driver incentive works two ways. Since I can’t meet it I don’t need to worry about acceptance rates. Not that Lyft is as hot as Uber, but I can now go with the hot hand without the consequences of risking something I can no longer earn. Having gotten my driver responses from last week, I’ve come to accpet that some people will call me “awesome” while only giving me 4 stars, Lyft line passengers will give me 1 star and call me the worst driver ever because the navigation takes them on a route they don’t like. So maybe its time to start giving out only 4 stars for the best passengers, 3 stars for those who make me wait, 2 stars for those who don’t input a destination, and 1 star for those who want to only give me turn-by-turn instructions. Oh yeah, I’ll also tell more passengers that they are getting gouged by Lyft/Uber and the day will come that yes there will be lower rates but get used to perpetual surge/prime time pricing.

holygoat

They are going to eventually lose one of the biggest incentives for the customer: quality drivers. I can’t pay my bills on these new rates, not without driving 12 hour a day, anyway. They are cutting the incentive for good people to drive. My search for a new job just started.

It’s their company, and they can do what they like with it, but I don’t have to go along with it.

Jeff

What UBER is not saying regarding the guarantees are they are not offered to anybody. I am a 20% driver who did quite well with guarantees last year. I was not offered guarantee. When I asked UBER they said they are only offered to some to maintain fairness. But price cut to all. I think misleading that UBER soothes the public with talks of guarantees when they are not offered to all that the cuts impact!

The drivers they have, have worn out their cars with all of the miles +
wear and tear. Get rid of the old drivers who have a brain, hire the
newbies with their nice smelling newer cars with less miles, no puke
stains, etc.

Yes, I noticed this too. It also affects whether or not passengers can take advantage of drivers. For example, after knowing how Uber Pool works, I will not tell a customer that they cannot take 3 people on an Uber Pool, and I cannot wait stop at a 7-11 for a passenger to pick up something. A newbie will not know this, passengers will take advantage, and then there is less respect from the passenger to the driver.

BJ Love

Riders have learned not to request rides during surges by waiting few minutes. It is a losing proposition.

Aaron Black

It’s terrible how Uber does this. Some drivers have gotten together to create our own rideshare service. We need drivers! The service launches next month.

Here is the idea take my money and then give it back to me using the positive words like Bonus or Guarantee, can anyone say 1984 here?

holygoat

Aaaand, Lyft just cut their rates in LA. $0.88 per mile, $0.16 per minute. I’m done. Was fun while it was a viable means of paying my bills, but it’s not any more.

Best of luck to the rest of you who continue drive.

BJ Love

Cutting fares does not increase demand if people cannot afford to go places in the first place. It is just best opportunity to make fares lower permanently after the slow months.

If you look at Detroit, the way they have it priced is very sly (and the same principles apply to all cities). They claim that the minimum fare is $5.30, but you have to take out the $2.30 Safe Ride Fee (only Uber really knows what the heck that is for, plus it jumped from $1 to $2.30, perfect means of increasing percentages), you are left with really just $3.00 fare. Now because you they have lowered the rates, a ride for half a mile or 2 miles will be pretty much make the same minimum fare. So if you look at the percentages, Uber will make the $2.30 plus $0.60 for their 20% cut, a total of $2.90 for that ride, while the driver made only $2.40. I am not saying that Uber should not make a profit, but when GREED gets ahead of its social responsibilities, it is doomed in the end.

Yes Uber is funding research for cars with out drivers, but that technology might not be ready for another 10 years and till then Uber can and will shoot itself in the foot for biting the hand that supports its very existence, drivers.

If and only if all Uber drivers refuse to work a single day, all at the same time, that will bring uber to its knees. I know people will say I am crazy, but their metrics will mean sh*t if you have no drivers and they cannot afford to lose to any competition. Even Lyft will stand back and learn from this lesson, Reminds me how how Auto Union used to negotiate with auto companies in Detroit with the stronger company first, and then the other two would just follow same foot steps.

Drivers need to be educated as well. One day off will not break their income, but collectively, it can bring Uber to its knees to stop its greedy practices. Funny part is that they claim Uber and drivers are partners, yeah right, Uber partnership percentages keep increasing at drivers’ expense.

Don’t know why people are bothering to drive anymore. I just published a piece on why I’m no longer willing to drive for Uber, unless it is a passenger pickup along the way. It’s just not worth it anymore with their latest fare cuts.

Imagine getting into an accident, and not having gap insurance. You are SCREWED by the amount of your deductible at the very least. I just don’t know how Uber plans to get quality drivers on the road. Maybe there are enough hurting people out there to drive after they receive their sign up bonus.

There are 77 million hourly workers and 3 million of whom make min. wage or less – so I don’t see a shortage of drivers any time soon. But the real question is will they be able to maintain the quality?

therideshareguy.com/will-uber-ever-run-out-of-drivers/

BJ Love

You get what you pay for. Smart drivers will not be willing to drive for Uber, only newbies believing that they can make a fortune with Uber’s promising campaigns will start driving and quit very soon. Churn will be even costly for Uber, but they will try to milk every new sucker until there are no more new ones left.

Justin Bosley

I started driving back in August last year and made bank! I made 400 dollars in one weekend. I drove a couple of weeks and then got busy with school and quite driving. I started back up again this year and now I feel like I work a lot and make pennies. My average fare went from 11 or 12 bucks down to 5 or 6 bucks and my average pay went from 10 bucks down to 5 bucks. The worst part is that I feel like demand is worse than it was back in August. It is pretty terrible. To say the least I am going to search for a real job.

Well Uber will have a lot to explain about that $2.30 Safety Fee they charge for each ride, and they take 100% of that, after the Kalamazoo spree killing by Uber driver who killed 6 people today. Its a sad day, but that is what happens when you lower your standards because you cannot find slave drivers to drive for you, because Uber just got too greedy. I said it before and will say it again, Uber is shooting itself in the foot by being moronically greedy, it cannot survive without GOOD DRIVERS, and it keeps pushing them out the door.

That $2.30 fee they tackle on each trip a ride is serviced, is like an insurance policy, this will definitely expose their bs fees and how greedy they have become. People will be questioning their business model. This should be a wake up call for all, Uber, riders and drivers. If it is not fair for all parties, I believe this incident will break Uber and ll its competitors alike.

If Uber does not take the right measures immediately but instead decides to lower the rates even more, to the extend that drivers will have to pay Uber just to be honored to drive people around, this company is history and will be taught as business case in Business Schools for generations to come.

I think this is the opportunity for Uber to act properly, or it is history before it even goes public.

BJ Love

With the new rates, it is impossible to earn a living. Do not forget dead miles you drive over to the client, and wasted time to get there too. So Uber is paying you barely more than what the IRS allows you to deduct on your taxes for your car expenses, because you have to calculate the net rate after 20% uber’s cut not the fare rate, plus divide that fare rate by at least 1.25 to compensate for that dead miles.

For example and simplicity let us take this rate of $1 and after Uber’s fee, it is actually $0.80 but now you have to factor in the dead miles and if you divide 80 cents by 1.25, your rate is merely $.64 per mile. If I remember correctly, the IRS allows you $0.59 cents per mile, and they know what the cost of operating a car is, you are only making 5 cents per mile. How can you even survive on that? How many new suckers will work for Uber after realizing how they have been taken for a ride.

The IRS mileage rate is not the cost to operate your vehicle – it is the deduction amount you get. Your cost is/should be a lot lower.

BJ Love

If you choose the standard mileage rate, you cannot deduct actual car operating expenses—for example, maintenance and repairs, gasoline, taxes, oil, insurance and vehicle registration fees. All of these items, as well as depreciation, are factored into the standard mileage rate set by the IRS. However, you can deduct the interest you pay on a car loan, as well as parking fees and tolls for business trips (but you can’t deduct parking ticket fines or the cost of parking your car at your place of work).

The standard mileage rate is the simplified estimate cost of operating your car set by the IRS, that is why it is deducted as a business expense, a deduction, meaning cost estimate or very close to it. Washing your car every other day to keep it clean is not included in mileage deductions and cannot be deducted as an expense. So your cost of operating the car is never going to be lower if you take the mileage deduction. Just factor 150 washes at least and at $5.00 per wash, that is additional $750 expense you cannot deduct.

There are some important restrictions on who can use the standard mileage rate. If you don’t qualify to use it, you must use the more complicated actual expense method. First, and most important, you must use the standard mileage rate the first year you use a car for business. If you fail to do so, you are forever stuck using that method for that car.

If you use the standard mileage rate the first year, you can switch to the actual expense method in a later year, and then switch back and forth between the two methods after that, subject to certain restrictions. For this reason, if you’re not sure which method you want to use for, it’s a good idea to use the standard mileage rate the first year you use the car for business.

Safe Ride Fee has been changed to Booking Fee after Kalamazoo incident. Question is will Uber drivers get 80% since it is a booking fee and not safe ride fee anymore? What a farce Uber has become, trying to evade responsibility by changing name. How about poupper instead of uber?

I drive for Uber in the Gold Coast, Australia. On the 18th February I received an email from Uber stating, ‘This Friday, we will begin trialling a 20% reduction in uberX prices to get more riders on the road taking more trips, which in turn should increase the hourly earnings of driver-partners.’ Today I received a text from Uber stating, ‘The coast is a tad quiet so why not experience peak hours Friday and Saturday in Brisbane’. Brisbane is a 90 minute drive, north of my place. The contradiction is quite obvious. I’m sure their non driver employees didn’t receive a 20% pay cut.

Yea that is quite a contradiction, I personally tend to ignore a lot of their texts/etc since they often don’t make sense…kind of like this one.

Sammiam

I’m in the Baltimore Md area and lowering the fares in November 20%, then again in January is mind blowing. We used to get a certain class of people in our cars, now Shaqweeqwee with her beyond beyond kids can book an Uber. I went from 4 hrs a day making $200 (airport) 5 days week to after November 20% $500 6 days to January barely making $250 a week. I drive 7 days, 10+ hours for nothing. Doesn’t cover gas/repairs. That 800 lb Gorilla is now 1200 lbs. Uber has left a bad taste in my mouth, I prefer driving for Lyft. All their driver’s switched to Uber because of the Ridiculous surges now. 4.8, 5.2. At 5am with 10 driver’s near. Now the safety inspections…if their not done, you can’t drive.

About

I'm Harry, the owner and founder of The Rideshare Guy Blog and Podcast. I used to be a full-time engineer but now I'm a rideshare blogger! I write about my experience driving for Uber, Lyft, and other services and my goal is to help drivers earn more money by working smarter, not harder. Read More…

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